Prayer and Fasting

Scripture: In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes (Daniel 9:1-3, NIV).

Observation: In this passage we see a very distraught man. He has a lot on his shoulders and he does the one thing that he knows to do, and that is go before his God in prayer. He knew that the situation was not good for himself and his people, so he prayed and fasted. It says in verse 4, "I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed..." He goes on for the remainder of the chapter and confesses not only his personal sin, but the sin of his people. This is Daniel, a person we think of as a great man of God and leader of his people. A man who stands for what is right even if it costs his life at the mouth of lions. Yet, he sets aside time to confess his sin before God because he realizes that it is necessary. If we don't spend time in prayer and confess our sin before God often, it can build up and become burdensome.

Application: I don't always confess my sin right when I need to. I allow it become to burdensome before I take it to God. Which that is a sin in and of itself because I am telling God that I can do things on my own and I can handle it fine. Which I know that I can't, I just want control of something in my own life. Unconfessed sin still has a hold on our lives and if we leave it unconfessed it can bring us down. Jesus has already paid for it, and there is nothing that can separte us from His love for us. It is good to get in the habit of confessing our sin regularly so we can stay right with God and allow nothing to get in the way of that relationship.

Prayer: "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands..." I confess that I don't always confess my sin to You when I need to. I tend to allow it build up and then come to you with one big sloppy mess. I confess the sin of thinking that I can handle things on my own. You alone can deal with my sin and it is only because of Jesus that I have forgiveness. I thank you for the cross and for the atonement it brings. I can never thank you enough for everything you have done in my life. Father help me to come to you and confess my sin right away and not allow it come between us, Amen.